from Brisbane around the world…

Today I had the opportunity to enjoy a lovely lunch at Base Uptown (Tinbilly) backpackers as part of my internship at Brisbane Marketing. As being a former backpacker, I couldn’t help but remembering all the great things I have experienced during my travelling time. Also checking out the hostel and comparing it to others was inevitable for me as I have stayed in plenty of different hostel all around Australia 🙂

So I have summarised all the good facts. First thing is of course location. It is literally opposite the Roma Street Transit Centre (466 George St) where all the coach buses (Greyhound or Premier buses) arrive in Brisbane. So it’s the most convenient place to check in after a long ride on the bus and avoid long walks in the heat with your luggage. Walking distance to CBD is about 5-10min, depending on where you want to go in the city, so it’s close to everything.

My next point is a very simple feature which a lot of people assume every hostel would have: an elevator. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case and believe me there is nothing worse than having to climb up 2+ levels by stairs with all your luggage. So an additional and very simple positive point for Base Uptown for having an elevator!

Once checked in, the next thing of importance is the rooms of course. They have quite a variety of rooms from cheaper share rooms to private rooms with TV and aircon. And the best, all rooms have Ensuite! Also all rooms have sound proof walls that means no matter what’s going on outside or downstairs in the bar, once you are in the room you can relax and blend out the rest. Staying connected is easy as there is Wifi around the whole hostel using Global Gossip with $4 for 24hrs internet.

One of the best parts of backpacking is to meet new people from all over the world and having a fun time. That’s why there is a bar downstairs at the Hostel called Tinbilly bar, where you can enjoy lunch as well as having a drink and a good time at night. During the day you can buy affordable and nice food, I tried the salmon when we went there (you easily pay up to $25 in other places for salmon, it was only $15!) and it was delicious. It’s a nice laid back atmosphere in the bar and because there are windows all around the bar, a nice and refreshing breeze cooled us down. I haven’t checked out the place at night, but I will definitely go there some time soon. Backpacker bars tend to be much more fun even for people who stay permanently in Brisbane, as the people are much more diverse and looking for a good and fun time.

In saying all that, of course there is room for improvement and also the hostel management is aware of it. That’s why they are redeveloping and redesigning some areas around the hostel at the moment. For instance, there are currently planning on an entertainment program for the bar including live music or international theme nights. Also they are refreshing the corridor spaces and the common area.

It is also good to know that this Hostel is part of the 3 Base hostels here in Brisbane. We weren’t able to visit the other ones, but there are two more named Base Central and Base Embassy.

Base Central is located in 308 Edward Street which is just opposite the train central station and the amazing building has a great vintage look. Downstairs is the famous Down Under Bar, a backpacker bar with 7 days a week party. An additional great service is the Job Club. They provide help with finding a job around Brisbane which is useful not only for backpackers as well as for students who stay at the Hostel. There is also a travel desk in Central where you book all your travel trips with some discount – they usually have some special deals!

The last one, Base Embassy, is located in 214 Elizabeth St which is 2min from one of the major shopping malls, the Myer Centre. It has a quieter atmosphere and is the newest building out of the 3 hostels.

It was nice to be able to check out one of the hostels here in Brisbane and I had a great lunch there!! Thanks heaps for the tour!